Martial Artists In Movies: The Real Deal - Volume 4
"Wait a minute! Haven't I seen this list before?"
In 2009, I used Amazon.com to begin compiling a cumulative list of genuine martial artists who also appeared in movies, accompanied by trivia. About two years later, an IMDb user pasted my entries into this format to create a clone list (he wasn't the first: a user on the Action Fans forum did the same thing).
"Why should I check out this list if I've seen the other one?"
Better and more up-to-date information. I regularly revised the Amazon lists, and as a result have more current entry and trivia information.
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This is a list of legitimate martial artists appearing in movies, accompanied by the styles they practice(d), the recognition they've received for them, and individual trivia.
Qualifications:
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NOTE: a lot of the trivia listed here did originally come from IMDb pages, but I've only included information I was able to verify from other sources as well.
--------------------------------------------------
**Though I have done my utmost to ensure that all information below is factual and up-to-date, I may have made mistakes and therefore make no claims about this list's infallibility**
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Next list here
Previous list here
In 2009, I used Amazon.com to begin compiling a cumulative list of genuine martial artists who also appeared in movies, accompanied by trivia. About two years later, an IMDb user pasted my entries into this format to create a clone list (he wasn't the first: a user on the Action Fans forum did the same thing).
"Why should I check out this list if I've seen the other one?"
Better and more up-to-date information. I regularly revised the Amazon lists, and as a result have more current entry and trivia information.
--------------------------------------------------
This is a list of legitimate martial artists appearing in movies, accompanied by the styles they practice(d), the recognition they've received for them, and individual trivia.
Qualifications:
- the performer must be an actual practitioner of a martial art; simply portraying martial artists in film, no matter how well or how often, is not enough
- the martial art(s) in question must be able to be identified and verified by a source other than hearsay
- individual accomplishments (e.g. tournaments won, belts held) must likewise be verifiable
- Mixed Martial Arts, Tai Chi, and weapons-based styles can only be credited if the person in question practices another style as well (I reserve the right to make exceptions)
- Kickboxing is considered a martial art
- Tae Bo, boxing, wrestling, and gymnastics are not considered martial arts
- styles incorporating firearms usage (e.g. Systema) are not considered
--------------------------------------------------
NOTE: a lot of the trivia listed here did originally come from IMDb pages, but I've only included information I was able to verify from other sources as well.
--------------------------------------------------
**Though I have done my utmost to ensure that all information below is factual and up-to-date, I may have made mistakes and therefore make no claims about this list's infallibility**
--------------------------------------------------
Next list here
Previous list here
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- Actress
- Stunts
- Director
Actress, stunt woman, and martial artist Marjean Holden was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and raised in Vail, Colorado. She started acting from the age of 9, well being from the family of entertainers, she already knew her profession. As a youngster, she showed multiple skills in her school plays, and also in sports. Later she started martial arts training in boxing and Wun Hop Kuen Do, which she used in most of her action-fighting films. With her athletic abilities and martial arts, she entered in the world of motion pictures as an actress and stunt woman. Some of her stunt work was in Bulletproof (1996), Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997) and Blade (1998).
After few films, she made her first professional debut in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) and made appearances in such films as Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992) and SF film Nemesis (1992).
Her memorable roles were in Ballistic (1995), in which all martial arts movie goers knows that she had a match against body builder lady Corinna Everson. Next is The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997), where she portrayed Sheeva and John Carpenter's horror Vampires (1998) as one of the vampire masters. As for her TV appearances, she was in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) and Babylon 5: A Call to Arms (1999), but she became famous for her roles in Crusade (1999) and BeastMaster (1999) TV series. She played a supporting role besides Bruce Willis in Hostage (2005). She recently completed working on "Bring me the Head of Lance Henriksen" with Michael Worth.Wun Hop Kuen
Trivia: prefers to do her own stunts
Best seen in BALLISTIC- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Producer
Michael Dudikoff was born in Redondo Beach, California, USA. Michael is an actor and assistant director, known for Platoon Leader (1988), American Ninja (1985) and Bachelor Party (1984). Michael has been married to Belle since 18 September 2004. They have three children.Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Karate, Aikido
Trivia: studied with Rorian Gracie
Best seen in AMERICAN NINJA 2- Blake Bahner was born on 14 February 1959. He is an actor, known for Caged Fury (1990), Wizards of the Lost Kingdom II (1989) and General Hospital (1963).Karate (WKF Champion)
Trivia: is an Aquarius
Best seen in BLACK BELT II - Actress
- Soundtrack
One of four children, Blackman was born in London's East End, to Edith Eliza (Stokes), a homemaker, and Frederick Thomas Blackman, a statistician employed with the Civil Service. She received elocution lessons for her 16th birthday (at her own request), and later attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, which she paid for by working as a clerical assistant in the Civil Service. She was also a dispatch rider for the Home Office during World War II, playing an important role in the war effort.
Blackman received her first acting work on stage in London's West End as an understudy in "The Guinea Pig". She continued with roles in "The Gleam" (1946) and "The Blind Goddess" (1947), before moving into film. She debuted with Fame Is the Spur (1947), starring Michael Redgrave.
Blackman suffered a nervous breakdown following her divorce from Bill Sankey, a man 12 years her senior, who's jealousy, fraudulent business practices, and emptying of her bank accounts took it's toll. After hospitalisation Blackman began counselling, which would last for years, and began rebuilding her career.
TV series work also came her way again, most notably the highly popular The Avengers (1961), co-starring Patrick Macnee as John Steed. As the leather-clad "Catherine Gale", Blackman showcased her incredible beauty, self-confidence, and athletic abilities. Her admirable qualities made her not only a catch for the men, but also an inspirational figure for the 1960s feminist movement.
Blackman took on the role of Greek goddess Hera in popular movie adventure Jason and the Argonauts (1963) with Ray Harryhausen and melodrama Life at the Top (1965) with Laurence Harvey. She then played "Pussy Galore" in the classic James Bond film Goldfinger (1964). Blackman went toe to toe with Sean Connery's womanizing "007" and created major sparks on screen.
Blackman continued to work consistently in films and tv, while also appearing on stage where she earned rave reviews as the blind heroine of the thriller "Wait Until Dark" as well as for her dual roles in "Mr. and Mrs.", a production based on two of Noël Coward's plays. She also enjoyed working with her second husband, actor Maurice Kaufmann, in the play "Move Over, Mrs. Markham" and the film thriller Fright (1971). She proved a sultry-voiced sensation in various musicals productions such as "A Little Night Music", "The Sound of Music", "On Your Toes", and "Nunsense."
In the new millennium, Honor was seen in such films as Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Color Me Kubrick (2005), Reuniting the Rubins (2010), I, Anna (2012) and Cockneys vs Zombies (2012), as well as the British TV serieses Water, Water, Everywhere (1920) The Royal (2003) Coronation Street (1960), long running series Casualty (1986) and finally You, Me & Them (2013), her last role after her retirement several years earlier.
Divorced from Kaufmann in 1975 (although they remained friends until his death, Blackman even cared for him during his 13 year battle with cancer), Blackman never remarried, revealing in an interview that she simply preferred single life, "Basically I'm a shy person and I like my own company". Unable to conceive, the couple adopted two children, Lottie and Barnaby, in '67 and '68 respectively.
The ever-lovely and eternally glamorous star continued to find regular work into her 90s, including co-starring in the long-running English hit comedy series The Upper Hand (1990) and performing her one-woman stage show, "Wayward Women"
Honor Blackman died on April 5, 2020, in Lewes, Sussex. She was 94.Judo
Trivia: left home after fighting back when her father struck her for wearing lipstick
Best seen in THE AVENGERS- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Stunts
Director/Producer/Writer/Performer Lauro Chartrand-DelValle has followed an unusual path into his film career. It's not surprising that Lauro has been a prominent figure in the world of action films since 1989 when he transitioned from Martial Arts competitor and instructor into the world of cinema. Being mentored through the Martial Arts by legendary Master Fumio Demura, he already had a head start in the action genre. From his early years as a stunt performer he worked with and was influenced by some of Hollywoods biggest action stars such as Tom Cruise, Jackie Chan, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Chuck Norris. After working for two seasons on the long running TV series Walker Texas, Ranger as the fight director his desire to direct was born. From there his reputation gained momentum and before long he was one of the busiest action designers in the business, launching the beginning of his 2nd Unit directing career. After 2nd Unit directing on numerous projects and proving his visual sense of story telling, he followed up with a successful collaboration with Director Keoni Waxman. Mr. Waxman then asked Lauro to main unit direct the action film "Born To Raise Hell". It was a dream come true to helm his first film as Director and he embraced it with the passion of a true film maker, thus cementing Lauro's spot in the TV series "True Justice" as one of three directors on the series. After getting his name firmly embroidered on the directors chair he promptly started writing, developing, producing and directing his own projects. He has several feature projects in development with his various production companies.Karate, Aikido, Judo, Tae Kwon Do, Kobudo
Trivia: is a member of the Bullseye Stunts Team
Best seen in NINJA TURTLES: THE NEXT MUTATION- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Australian actor Bren Foster started acting in high school. His mother was of Cypriot heritage and his father of English/Irish heritage. After High school Bren studied Film and Video production, but felt the need to move toward his artistic development as an actor. Bren then traveled to New York to study at "The Barrow Group Theater". Upon his return to Australia Bren auditioned for and was selected into one of Australia's leading Drama schools "The University of Western Sydney" AKA Theater Nepean. Furthermore he spent 2 years at the Sanford Meisner based acting school "The Actors Pulse". Early in Bren's career he worked on many Australian television Dramas but his breakout role came when he landed a role in the critically acclaimed and award winning Australian feature film Cedar Boys (2009) where he was praised as "a born star" by Empire Film magazine for his portrayal of "Jamal" a criminal behind bars desperately trying to guide his younger brother away from the criminal path. Bren has studied Martial Arts for many years and has worked in the United States for "The discovery Channel" filming Extreme Martial arts and for the National Geographic Channel where his martial arts skills were put to the test against science in the feature length documentary "Fight Science". Bren has firmly established a solid acting career in both international film and television, both in Australia and the United States.Tae Kwon Do (5th Dan; Blitz Hall of Fame entry), Hapkido (1st Dan), Hwa Rang Do (1st Dan), Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Trivia: is a former Australian national bodybuilding champion
Best seen in FORCE OF EXECUTION- Stunts
- Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Dian Hristov is known for The Hitman's Bodyguard (2017), 300: Rise of an Empire (2014) and The Expendables 3 (2014).Judo (record: 8-11)
Trivia: is the former personal stunt double and stand-in for Steven Seagal and Dolph Lundgren
Best seen in UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: REGENERATION- Built like the proverbial Patton tank, Professor Toru Tanaka was arguably the successor to Harold Sakata as the archetypal Asian henchman who possessed incredible strength, and clobbered those foolish enough to tangle with him. Born Charles Kalani, he was a successful wrestler and served for over ten years in the US Armed Forces attaining the rank of sergeant. Tanaka first appeared playing a Japanese sumo wrestler on the TV series Little House on the Prairie, however his first film role pitched him as an insidious villain in the chop socky An Eye for an Eye (1981) in which he faces down Chuck Norris before being kicked through a large table. In total, Tanaka appeared in only 23 films including appearing alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger twice in The Running Man (1987) and Last Action Hero (1993).
Appearing in The Perfect Weapon (1991) with 6th degree Kempo black belt, Jeff Speakman, Tanaka comes to a fiery end courtesy of an LPG tank!! In reality, Tanaka was far removed from his own screen persona, and was known to be a kind & generous man to all who knew him. He passed away in August, 2000 from heart failure.Danzan-Ryu Jujitsu, Judo
Trivia: was also a college football player, an Army sergeant, a martial arts instructor, a professional boxer (record: 3-2), and pro wrestler with the then-WWWF, winning 4 tag team championships
Best seen in THE PERFECT WEAPON - After studying Chinese and jazz dance from elementary school, at 17 years old, she won a national contest to find new talents, organized by Taiwanese TV, and shortly after she made several appearances on TV, and also got cast in a bit part in the Taiwanese film "Taipei Story" (1985), directed by Edward Yang. In 1987 she signed a contract with Hong Kong film studio D & B to replace Malaysian action star Michelle Yeoh and from then she starred in more than 20 martial arts films. From 1994 she combined her appearances in movies with TV series, making more than ten TV productions in only 5 years.Tae Kwon Do
Trivia: claims that she does not enjoy performing action scenes; a stunt wherein she had to run on top of a moving vehicle resulted in her having nightmares for weeks
Best seen in IN THE LINE OF DUTY 4 - Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Tae Kwon Do, Shaolin Kung Fu
Trivia: in 2010, was reportedly one of only two certified stunt performers in Australia
Best seen in THE LAST EVE- Stunts
- Actress
- Producer
Lauren Mary Kim is the faceless action hero who brings adrenaline to films, television and video games. As a child she trained in acrobatics and dance and originally moved to Los Angeles to become a dancer where she landed her first job as a Laker girl. Soon after, she trained in acting, martial arts and stunt work. She is best known for her work on The Mandalorian, Clone Wars Season 7, Furious 7, The Last of Us 2, Mortal Kombat 11 and doubled as Elektra on Netflix's hit series Daredevil and Defenders. She specializes in several fighting techniques including Taekwondo, Wushu, Silat, Filipino Martial Arts, Jeet Kune Do and Capoeira.Tae Kwon Do, Wushu, Muay Thai
Trivia: is a former NBA dancer
Best seen in BACKLASH- Actress
- Producer
Kristin Kreuk was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to Deanna Che, who is of Chinese ancestry, and Peter Kreuk, who is of Dutch descent. Her parents are landscape architects. She attended and graduated from Eric Hamber Secondary School. Although she did some stage work in school, she focused more on her studies. She described herself as shy and boring.
For her first professional work, she went to an open casting audition for Edgemont (2000), a teen drama series aired on CBC Television in Canada. She plays the role as "Laurel Yeung". Laurel was the last main character to be cast because the casting director was having a problem finding an actress. Fortunately, for them (and us), they found Kristin just in time.
Her career was set to take off when she landed on the highly acclaimed serial drama series for The WB, Smallville (2001). It follows the story of "Clark Kent" in his pre-Superman days in a small town of Smallville, Kansas. Kreuk played the role as "Lana Lang", Clark Kent's object of desire before he meets "Lois Lane".
Smallville (2001) proved to be a giant step for Kristin's acting career, as she landed several interviews with several magazines, including YM (Young and Modern) and Rolling Stone. She also did a commercial for Neutrogena, popular for its skin care products.Karate (purple belt)
Trivia: also practices gymnastics
Best seen in STREET FIGHTER: THE LEGEND OF CHUN LI- Stunts
- Actor
Mike had a wish to be a stuntman since he was a kid growing up with television programs such as The A-Team and martial arts movies. Mike got involved with martial arts at the age of 13. He started practicing Tae Kwon Do, Boxing and Kickboxing, and went to compete. Talented as he is he won many tournaments and titles. Some of those are 5 Times British Tae Kwon Do Champion, Canadian, German and Swiss Champion, 2 Times International T.A.G.B Fighter of the Year, 1991 Top 3 Light Heavyweight Tae Kwon Do Stylists in the World and Mike is the only Light Heavyweight Fighter to win British titles in both WTF and ITF Tae Kwon Do.
With these skills Mike went to Hong Kong for a movie career. He also met his wife there. At this time, Mike is back in the UK, and has been in several movies from the US, working as an actor, stuntman and trainer. Mike has now worked with the greatest of the Hong Kong and US action stars such as Chow Yun Fat, Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen, Jet Li, Van Damme and Shannon Lee, and will keep working in the greatest action movies.Karate, Wing Chun, Tae Kwon Do, Kickboxing
Trivia: is a member of the Hong Kong Stuntman Association
Best seen in UNLEASHED- Stunts
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Dave lea started training in martial arts in his early teens. He traveled the world learning from some of the greatest martial art teachers he could find, including Dan Inosanto who trained under Bruce Lee, and Joseph Cheng of Wing Chun fame. Also studied with Grand Master Leong Swee Lun of Shaolin 5 Animals in Malaysia.
Learning all he could he also started doing TV work where he landed a recurring role on UK #1 TV show EastEnders. (All this before he took an acting class). He then auditioned for 1989 Batman where he stunt/fight doubled Michael Keaton.
His first movie in Los Angeles was Tango & Cash starring Sly Stallone and Kurt Russell where he was hired to train/choreograph and fight Sly Stallone and was awarded Best Fight Sequence. That movie put Dave on the map. Since then he has continued to work with 'A' list actors in preparing them for their action roles and choreographed the action.
Moving up the ladder he became a stunt coordinator/fight choreographer and continues to prepare actors for the complicated action scenes for today's audiences. In front or behind the camera Dave explodes with his passion.
He was called up by Michael Keaton to Train-Choreograph Stunt and Fight double him again in Batman Returns getting him more attention from studio heads at Warner Bros and other main line studios. He's worked with numerous actors including preparing them for Action roles in seemingly impossible timing. Sly Stallone, Ashley Judd, Ben Affleck, Colin Farrell, Tom Cruise, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ewan Mcgregor, Scarlett Johansson, Will Smith, Sandra Bullock, Michelle Pfeiffer, Famke Janssen, Dennis Quaid, David Boreanaz and many other action stars. Dave continues developing his choreography and action to excite the audiences for today's action genre.
Dave's repertoire of choreography is known by the many styles of fighting he has studied. These include close range tactical, flashy, penitentiary, street fighting, gang fights, period fights and whatever the script calls for. Dave studied dance for many years and adds that into his routines. Dave says: 'Action is like dancing! Turn the music on and dance. The best action moves are the ones that simply appear in the choreography. You don't look for them, you feel them.'
He is also efficient in getting actors ready for their action roles within a tight schedule. For example, when working with Sly Stallone on Demolition Man, one producer, Joel Silver, introduced Dave to Sandra Bullock saying he had only 7 days to get her ready - and he did!
Dave continues to stay motivated and searches for new and innovative ways to enhance the action. No two actors are the same, and Dave creates different styles of action for every film, whether it's a low budget indie or a high end studio budget. Dave said: 'When your passion is in the action, the fights and stunts will be true and real. I have learned from some of the best teachers out there. The least I can do is hold on to what they taught me. Dave added: 'My mother had a tremendous influence on my physical and stretching abilities. She would do the splits and kick above her head, just because she could. She was so amazing. So really she was the greatest inspiration of all, and continues to be.' Dave continues to train himself. He said: 'It becomes a lifestyle and a wonderful challenge to keep the physical ability of kicking, stretching and keeping finely tuned to all that works.' When it comes to movie fighting, he researches and creates the more unusual styles of fighting. He also took up Latin dancing to improve his choreography. Dave develops unique and explosive moves that even the most uncoordinated actor can perform to give a sense of reality to their performance and action scenes. 'I do the impossible! God helps with the 'miracles'. Camera ready, Real 2 Reel! And action!'Shotokan Karate, Escrima, Jeet Kune Do, Silat, Wing Chun, Shaolin Kung Fu
Trivia: is also a Hollywood stunt instructor
Best seen in BATMAN- Actor
- Stunts
- Additional Crew
Sayed Najem was born on 28 February 1970 in Lebanon. He is an actor, known for Attack Force (2006), Zen Man (2006) and The True Story of Troy (2004).Tae Kwon Do (7th Dan; Olympic Silver medalist; 4-time Pan-Am Champion)
Trivia: trained Hayden Christensen in martial arts in preparation for THE CLONE WARS
Best seen in ATTACK FORCE- Actor
- Director
- Producer
After leaving Vietnam with his family in 1975 Dustin Tri Nguyen (pronounced "Gwen") went on to establish himself as one of Hollywood's premiere Asian-American actors, having starred on the hit TV shows "21 Jump Street," "Seaquest DSV," "VIP," He went on to star in the films THE REBEL and THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS 2. In 2005 Dustin won the much sought after role in the Australian based critically acclaimed film LITTLE FISH starring opposite Academy Award-winner Cate Blanchett. In the film Dustin plays 'Jonny,' Blanchett's love interest in a story that revolves around her 'Tracy,' an ex-heroin-addict trying to rebuild her life. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and went on to become the number-one film in Australia. Along the way, it collected 5 Australian Film Institute Awards and 3 Film Critics' Awards. LITTLE FISH then opened in New York to rave reviews. Critics took note of Dustin's performance and transformation into a leading man among the A-list cast. This very performance earned him the 2007 Asian Excellence Award for Best Supporting Actor in a feature film.
Dustin can be seen starring in and directing Justin Lin's series "Warrior" on Cinemax. The Show, based on the writings of Bruce Lee and set in the late 1870s San Francisco during the Tong Wars in Chinatown. In the Series he plays the "Big Bad" Zing. Dustin is especially looking forward to season 2 where he has directed the sixth episode of the show. This past season also saw Dustin guest starring on the NBC hit Drama "This Is Us."
In more recent years, Dustin has transitioned to directing and producing films under his Vietnam-based Dreamscape DBS; the production company he shares with his producer wife, Bebe Pham. 2015 was a particularly good year for Dustin as his second directorial effort, JACKPOT, was chosen to represent Vietnam for Best Foreign Language Films at the 2016 Oscars. The film also was one of the surprise hits with Vietnamese audiences that year as it was inspired by the true events of a poor countryside lottery peddler who returned the winning lottery ticket to its rightful owner. By summer of 2016, JACKPOT collected 3 Golden Kite Awards (Vietnam's highest cinematic award) for Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Screenplay, in addition to People's Choice Award for the Best Film of 2015.
In 2014, Dustin collaborated as an actor in a Vietnamese adaptation of Dostoyevsky's A GENTLE CREATURE. This film, GENTLE, earned him a Leonardo da Vinci Horse Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 2015 Milan International Film Festival. In the same year, Dustin starred in Universal Pictures' sequel to THE MAN WITH THE IRON FISTS.
In 2013, Dustin made his directorial debut with a script he wrote which was his personal homage to Sergio Leone's spaghetti westerns, called ONCE UPON A TIME IN VIETNAM - the first fantasy-martial-arts-drama in Vietnam. The film was picked up by Lionsgate for North America distribution, as well as being distributed in England, Germany, Italy, France, Australia and South America.
In 2011, Dustin was awarded Best Actor at the Vietnamese International Film Festival for his performance as an abusive and bitter single father raising two children in the Mekong Delta in FLOATING LIVES.
In 2009, Dustin was awarded the Vietnamese Golden Lotus Award (Vietnam's Highest Film Award) for Best Actor in the motion picture THE LEGEND IS ALIVE, as well as the Golden Kite Award (Vietnam's Cinema Association) for the very same role. He was also awarded the Golden Rooster (China's most prestigious film award) for Favorite International Actor for this very role. Dustin played Long, a mentally challenged man, whose only wish is to bring his recently deceased mother's ashes to America. Along his journey, Long encounters and reluctantly involves himself with a young girl who has been sold to human traffickers.
In 2008, Dustin starred in Justin Lin's film FINISHING THE GAME, which had premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2006, Dustin starred in his first villain role in the Vietnamese blockbuster THE REBEL, a French-Vietnamese 1920's period action-drama. It marked his first return to Vietnam in 32 years.
Dustin's martial arts expertise was fully showcased in 2000 when he starred in a Levi's Jeans' European "Hero" campaign, which expanded upon his ever-growing international profile. The campaign was uniquely groundbreaking in that it was the first time Levi's had ever used an Asian star in their awarded winning campaigns. For Dustin, it offered the first opportunity to apply his love for the martial arts along with his dramatic training as he collaborated with director Jonathan Glazer (UNDER THE SKIN, SEXY BEAST, BIRTH) on the fight choreography.
Dustin currently lives in Vietnam with his wife, Bebe Pham, and their three children.Tae Kwon Do, Muay Thai, Escrima, Jeet Kune Do
Trivia: was jobless for approximately four years because he refused to accept poor film roles based only on martial arts performances
Best seen in 3 NINJAS KICK BACK- Stunts
- Actor
- Producer
While studying physiotherapy at university, David Will No was asked to star in The Huntsman (1993). That short film garnered the attention of action fans around the world and was featured in several magazines. John Woo and Peter Jackson contacted the director with praise for David's acting performance, and Sammo Kam-Bo Hung and Jackie Chan cast him in the action-comedy Mr. Nice Guy (1997).
Although he completed his degree, his involvement in the industry never waned. His first attraction was acting, which he has studied for many years at various institutions including the esteemed NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art) in Sydney, and the Ivana Chubbuck studios in Los Angeles. Like many actors in Australia, he has had his fair share of guest and walk-on roles in various TV serials, but his niche was his physical ability.
No's parents both taught martial arts. In fact, his father (Ke-Hyung No) was responsible for establishing taekwondo in Australia and his mother (Robin Marchment) was the first female Australian black-belt. No went on to represent Australia in both Judo and taekwondo. That martial arts ability has seen him work with some of the best in the field on projects like: Jackie Chan's Mr Nice Guy, The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and the Enter the Matrix (2003) video game, The Debt Collector, Cobra Kai, and many more.
As a martial arts actor, No explored the stunt world further, gaining his Australian stunt qualifications and working in all aspects of stunt work including body control, heights, fire, animals, water, and vehicles. His specialties would become fighting, wire-work, and precision driving.
No started making films under his own company name, Furious Films. His talents as a screenwriter and action director quickly became known, and Furious Films started writing screenplays for other companies. Furious Films won the annual pitching competition at SPAA (Screen Producers Association of Australia) and their projects were launched at the Cannes Film Market.
Owing to his Korean heritage, No became involved with the Korean film Industry, first as an actor and model for commercials, but later, due to his knowledge of "Eastern vs Western" filmmaking, he was asked to produce. He has shot Korean productions all around the world and has worked with the biggest names in the Korean Industry.
During this period, No has cultivated and maintained his skills as actor, producer, stuntman and Action Director - often fulfilling each of these roles in a single project. This seemingly impossible task has made him a crucial asset on many productions.
No finally pulled on the director's hat for his own film Forged (2006). This film is the culmination of the full range of many skills and exudes an individual style and perspective that are refreshing to the genre. It has played solidly on the International film festival circuit, picking up Best Director, several awards for Best Film, Best Costume, Best Music, and a cinematography award.
In 2008, David had an opportunity to work while spending time connecting with his Korean heritage. During this time, David learnt the Korean language, worked as a producer on many films, TV dramas and commercials, and appeared as an actor on Korean dramas such as Three Days (2014) and Doctor Stranger (2014). He also appeared as himself on the hit TV show Cool Kids on the Block as well as Star English, and trained and earned his taekwondo promotion to 7th Dan blackbelt as well as his judo promotion to 2nd Dan blackbelt. In addition, he directed the short film Battle of Wills (2016) which garnered many awards including Breakout Action Star, Best Horror/Thriller, and Best Cinematography, and received several nominations for Best Actor.
In 2016, David returned to Los Angeles and was immediately put to work on Altered Carbon (2018) training the main actor Joel Kinnaman as well as playing a role in episode 3. Since then he has trained many other actors in the ways of screen action. David also acted on and produced the Indie-feature Blindsided: The Game (2018). He opened the Scott Adkins actioner The Debt Collector (2018) and Sylvester Stallone's Escape Plan: The Extractors (2019). In 2018, while recovering from shoulder surgery, he worked on the final season of Jessica Jones (2015) as Assistant Stunt Coordinator, Stunt-viz filmmaker and Fight choreographer. Although based in the states, he continues to work around the world as a action actor, stuntman, and filmmaker.Tae Kwo Do, Judo
Trivia: is the son of Australian martial arts pioneers Ke-Hyung No and Robin Marchment
Best seen in THE MATRIX RELOADED- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Christopher Shannon Penn was born on October 10, 1965 in Los Angeles, California, the third son of actress Eileen Ryan (née Annucci) and director, actor, and writer Leo Penn. His siblings are musician Michael Penn and actor Sean Penn. His father was from a Lithuanian Jewish/Russian Jewish family, and his mother is of half-Italian and half-Irish descent.
Penn set out to follow in his parents' footsteps and started acting at age twelve in the Loft Studio. While in high school he and his brother Sean made several shorts with their classmates, which included such would-be stars as Emilio Estevez and Rob Lowe. Penn made his onscreen debut in the Christopher Cain movie, Charlie and the Talking Buzzard (1979). After a few years Penn caught the eye of acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola, who cast him in a supporting role in the teen drama Rumble Fish (1983). Although the film was a flop critically and commercially, Penn's career was well under way.
That same year he acted in All the Right Moves (1983), a high school drama film starring a young Tom Cruise. The next year Penn gave a performance in Footloose (1984), starring Kevin Bacon and dealing with a small town which bans rock & roll music. The movie was a smash hit, and remains a classic to this day. Penn followed this up with a villainous role in Clint Eastwood's Pale Rider (1985), and the crime movie At Close Range (1986), starring Christopher Walken.
Penn acted in a few smaller productions until he was cast as Travis Brickley in the sports drama Best of the Best (1989). Penn's character is a martial arts fighter who joins the other main characters when they enter a taekwondo tournament against the Korean team. The movie spawned several sequels, though Penn only appeared in the first and second films. A few more jobs followed until Penn landed what is known as his most famous movie: Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992). The indie crime film concerned a heist gone wrong, as the criminals search for a rat in their midst. Penn played the role of Nice Guy Eddie, the son of the old gangster that arranges the heist. The film continues to receive acclaim as a classic movie and as the start of Tarantino's directing career. Penn also acted in the Tarantino-scripted Tony Scott crime movie True Romance (1993), albeit in a much smaller role. Penn also took a supporting role in the ensemble film Short Cuts (1993) by Robert Altman.
After participating in these acclaimed films, Penn took on several smaller projects, including a role as the villain in the second "Beethoven" movie. In this period of time, Penn acted in such films as the crime film Mulholland Falls (1996), set in the 1950s. Penn then gave one of his greatest performances in the Abel Ferrara crime drama The Funeral (1996). The movie starred Christopher Walken, Penn, and Vincent Gallo as three brothers who are involved in the world of crime, even as it threatens to take them all down. Penn plays Chez, the middle brother, who has a very short temper. Penn also sang a song in the film as his character. While the film was well received critically and Penn received an award for Best Supporting Actor at the Venice Film Festival for his excellent performance, The Funeral (1996) went largely unseen. Penn followed up with the Canadian film The Boys Club (1996), the crime thriller One Tough Cop (1998), and a supporting role in the hit comedy Rush Hour (1998).
Following his latest success, Penn acted in the drama-comedy The Florentine (1999), the English comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2001), and the crime thriller Murder by Numbers (2002). Penn was also one of the many stars that acted in the box office failure Masked and Anonymous (2003), starring Bob Dylan. The last few years of his career mainly featured supporting roles in such movies as After the Sunset (2004), Starsky & Hutch (2004), and the Canadian crime film King of Sorrow (2007), his last film appearance. Throughout his life Penn had had battles with heart disease and multiple drug use. He was found dead in his home on January 24, 2006. He was only forty years old.
Penn left behind a career that featured many roles in small, independent productions as well as several very well-known films. Penn worked with several esteemed directors and fellow actors, lending his talent to both television and film. Although he never received nearly as much attention or as many awards as his brother Sean, Chris Penn will always be remembered by those who watch movies and appreciate his work.Karate
Trivia: was friends with kickboxer Don 'the Dragon' Wilson, whom he co-starred in four movies with
Best seen in BEST OF THE BEST- Jhoon Rhee was born on 7 January 1932 in Asan, Korea. He was an actor, known for When Taekwondo Strikes (1973), The Curse of the Dragon (1993) and Death by Misadventure: The Mysterious Life of Bruce Lee (1993). He was married to Han Soon Hahm and Theresa Chun. He died on 30 April 2018 in Arlington, Virginia, USA.Tae Kwon Do (10th Dan; Black Belt & Taekwondo Hall of Fame entry)
Trivia: is the founder of the Congressional Tae Kwon Do Club; in 1975, he hosted nationally-aired Democrat vs. Republican sparring matches
Best seen in WHEN TAEKWONDO STRIKES - Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Ted Jan Roberts was born on 24 September 1979 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Milk (2008), Hollywood Safari (1997) and Masked Rider (1995).Tae Kwon Do, Karate
Trivia: formerly taught the martial arts at the USA Freestyle Karate school in San Diego
Best seen in A DANGEROUS PLACE- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Antonio Sabato Jr. was born on 29 February 1972 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. He is an actor and producer, known for The Big Hit (1998), The Three Stooges (2012) and Drifter: Henry Lee Lucas (2009). He was previously married to Cheryl Moana Marie Nunes and Tully Jensen.Judo, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Kickboxing
Trivia: also practices boxing and Greco-Roman wrestling
Best seen in HIGH VOLTAGE- Daughter of English hair stylist Vidal Sassoon and American actress Beverly Adams, she was born and lived her tender years in Manhattan, New York, then in Los Angeles, California.
At 14, she dropped out of Beverly Hills High School to pursue a modeling career in New York, due to the persuasion of talent agent John Casablancas. She signed with the Prestige Agency and was considered with their best junior models, svelte and with beautiful gray eyes, and long reddish hair. She traveled to London with her father, and made that city her new hometown while modeling in Europe.
During a visit to Los Angeles, she was invited to do a film test, and soon she earned a nickname, the title of her first big movie, Tuff Turf (1985). Managing her schedules, she continued her fashion model career while taking part in TV series like Amazing Stories (1985), Out of This World (1987), Hardball (1989), and The Fanelli Boys (1990).
The big movies came next, and the first of a series of five films she signed for with producer Roger Corman. Angelfist (1993) was not her best film, but it certainly became popular and resisted two decades in video, portraying an undercover narcotics agent, Catara Lange (a name reminiscent of her real name, and Los Angeles), in the milieu of competitive and extreme martial arts. She invested for her new character by studying tae kwon do and arnis de mano, but did not fulfill her contract due to her premature death, during a New Year's Eve party.
Married twice, Catya Sassoon had three children: a son born in London, in 1995, and twin daughters Mycca and Syke born in the spring of 2000.Karate (WKA Champion)
Trivia: was also a model and a rock singer
Best seen in ANGELFIST - Actor
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Director
Kenn Scott is known for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) and Shapeshifter Dog (2006).Karate
Trivia: has a degree in Film and Television Production
Best seen in SHOWDOWN- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
A multi-award-winning writer and actor, Bo Svenson was born in Sweden - the only child of a Jewish, Russian-born big band leader mother and a father who was the Swedish King's personal driver and aide-de-camp. At 17, he emigrated by himself to the US. After serving six years as a US Marine, he was pursuing a Ph.D. in MetaPhysics and paying the rent with odd acting gigs when he was hired to replace Paul Newman as Robert Redford's co-star in "The Great Waldo Pepper".
This led to a starring role in the CBS TV pilot "The Freebooters" - and his being cast as "Big Swede" on the TV series "Here Come the Brides".
His role as "The Creature" in the 3-hour TV movie "Mary Shelley's Original Frankenstein" brought him great acclaim - and was soon followed by other major starring film roles, including, but most notably, as: Sheriff Buford Pusser in "Walking Tall Part II", "Final Chapter: Walking Tall" and the "Walking Tall" TV series, as the fun-loving offensive lineman Joe Bob Priddy in "North Dallas Forty", as the heroic airline pilot in "The Delta Force", and as Clint Eastwood's rival in "Heartbreak Ridge".
During his fifty years in Hollywood, he has worked with over 100 Academy Award winners/nominees. Since appearing in Quentin Tarantino's "Kill Bill" and "Inglourious Basterds" (the latter being Tarantino's version of one of his favorite films of all time, "The Inglorious Bastards" in which Bo starred), Bo has focused on his first love - writing. His screenplays have won and/or been selected more than thirty times by major film festivals.
An accomplished athlete, he has competed in world championships in judo and in Olympic selections in yachting. A 5th degree black belt in judo and a black belt holder in karate as well as aikido, he is past Chairman of USA Judo Masters and has been inducted into the Martial Arts Masters Hall of Fame. He is active in community service causes and was Sports Commissioner at the 2015 Special Olympics World Games at his Alma Mater UCLA.
Since 1975, he has been President/CEO of MagicQuest Entertainment, a California motion picture development and production company that also provides consulting services to actors and script advice to writers.
He is also owner and CEO of the British Columbia film and television production company, CanAm Film Corp., and the Norwegian corporation, Den Norske Arv A/S. He was Chairman of the Board/CEO of Motion Picture Group of America (1984-2004).Judo (4th Dan; USJA & US Armed Forces Far East Champion; Martial Arts Masters Hall of Fame entry), Karate, Aikido
Trivia: is a former bodyguard to King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
Best seen in BREAKING POINT- Stunts
- Director
- Actor
Antony Szeto is an award winning film director based in Hong Kong. Having worked in the industry for over 30 years, a specialist in action, he has amassed tremendous experience behind the camera. On top of co-directing and being shoot director for various films, he directed Hong Kong's first CGI animated feature film, helmed a family action film produced by Jackie Chan, and directed films for Hollywood legend and Oscar Recipient, Roger Corman. He was also Head of Departments for Stunts on Hollywood tent-poles Ghost in the Shell and Meg.Wushu (Australian National Team member)
Trivia: has a Master's Degree in Business Administration
Best seen in AMERICAN SAMURAI